1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of detecting an abnormality in a pressure sensor and a fuel cell system.
2. Description of Related Art
A fuel cell system including a fuel cell configured to receive supply of reactant gas (fuel gas and oxidant gas) and to generate electric power has been suggested and has been put into practical use. The fuel cell is an electric power generation system which oxidizes fuel by an electrochemical process and directly converts energy discharged in an oxidation reaction to electric energy.
At present, a technique has been suggested in which a pressure sensor or a control valve (an injector or a regulator) is provided in a fuel supply flow passage connecting a fuel supply source and a fuel cell of a fuel cell system, and the control valve is controlled to be turned on or off based on a detection value of the pressure sensor, thereby regulating a fuel supply amount to the fuel cell. In recent years, various techniques for detecting an abnormality in a pressure sensor for use in regulating a fuel injection amount have been suggested. For example, a technique in which fault determination of a pressure sensor is performed by comparing a pressure difference calculated based on a hydrogen consumption amount with a pressure difference actually detected by the pressure sensor has been suggested (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-234970 (JP 2008-234970 A)).